Title

Author

Date of Award

1-1-2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Department

Religious and Theological Studies

First Advisor

Pamela Eisenbaum

Keywords

death, justification, Paul, plight, punishment, soteriology

Abstract

Salvation requires that a person or group of people have a problem, a peril I am calling it, like disease, tyranny, eternal damnation, or the unbridled wrath of God. Paulâ??s gospel promises salvation. What, exactly, is the peril from which one is saved in Paulâ??s thought? The traditional response to this question is that believers are saved from the punishment of death, and from the wrath of God. The former is the legal consequence of Adamâ??s transgression in Eden in the primordial past, and the latter is the legal consequence of a guilty verdict in a divine courtroom in the future. Thus, the perils from which believers are saved are legal in aspect. This view of the peril is wrong. I will argue that the primary peril from which one is saved is not legal at all, but is instead relational. Paul would say to a Gentile that she needs to be saved from a life apart from God. The apostle does not claim that the reason to be saved is to avoid punishment. Because assumptions about the peril are incorrect, so are models of justification. Acquittal via faith in Christ does not accurately describe justification in Paulâ??s thought, nor do some New Perspective models of justification. Instead, justification signifies that proper relationship with God has been restored.

Recommended Citation

Maxwell, Mark, "Condemnation, Death, and Justification: From What is One Saved in Paul's Thought?" (2015). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1081.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1081